


Caregiver

by KRollins



Category: Professional Wrestling
Genre: Fluff, Multi, Polyamory, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-02 22:53:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16314182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KRollins/pseuds/KRollins
Summary: (CHAPTER 2 IS NOW HERE)Takes place right after Hell In A Cell 2018Dean was not used to being the least injured person. He was not used to being the one who had to take care of his boyfriends. Usually they had to take care of him. But tonight was different. Tonight Dean was the least hurt. Tonight Dean had to try something new. Tonight was going to be a weird night.Or in other words: Seth and Roman are both hurt, Seth being even worse and Dean can't get Roman to take a break and let him handle Seth because he still wants to help in making sure his boys are okay.





	1. Caregiver

Dean wasn't used to this. Not in any sense of the word. Not on this side of it. He was the one who usually risked life and limb, not Roman, and most definitely not Seth. Not the Architect who was always telling him to think of a plan. Telling him not to risk himself. He was always the one who would need to be cared for and reassured after long nights like these. Tonight was a first. Dean had sat up a bit achy, McIntyre already gone. He looked over at the ramp to see McIntyre with a limp Ziggler over his shoulders. His eyes widened when he realized Seth had been fighting with Ziggler. 

Dean looked straight down. Braun was still down, but he was moving. Roman was sitting on the ring apron, clutching his gut. He looked so sad and it broke Dean's heart. But not more than the next thing he saw. He looked over the edge of the cell and saw Seth laying in the remains of one of the announce tables, and he wasn't moving. Not even trying to. He was just laying there, flat on his back, eyes wide open and even from that height Dean could tell they were glazed over.

Dean flinched at the sight and looked away. That was usually him. Always him. The only time he'd seen Seth like that was when the two of them had fallen off the cell a few years back. Even then he didn't really see him. He had landed face down and both had managed to get up after a few minutes. Seth had to have been there for a good ten minutes, and Dean could barely tell if he was breathing.

He looked back to Roman, who was still sitting on the apron. Dean knew he was in pain too, and he desperately wanted to go to him and reassure him it was fine and take all his pain away, but when Roman caught his eye he immediately signaled towards Seth, mouthing to him to go to Seth. Dean let out a shaky breath and nodded, slowly climbing down the cell.

Dean didn't know how he was going to manage this night. He didn't have the first clue how to take care of others injuries and pain. All the experience he had was Roman and Seth taking care of his injuries. He guessed that would have to be enough for tonight.

He got to Seth and kneeled down beside him. "Seth?" he asked quietly. Well, quietly for the current volume of the arena, which had died down with people leaving. Dean tensed when Seth was unresponsive. His eyes didn't even move to look at Dean. He didn't like this. He hated this. He just wanted to hold Seth close to him and kiss all his pain away.

Dean was careful in lifting Seth up, and a mix of emotions hit him when Seth groaned. Happiness because he gave some sort of sign he wasn't dead, sadness because obviously, he groaned, he's in pain, and anger towards Dolph Ziggler. He wanted to find that son of a bitch and push him onto a highway in the middle of rush hour. In fact, he felt the specific need to stab him multiple times with a fork, even more specifically in his head. Dean took another shaky breath and forcefully pushed all those sadistic CZW thoughts to the very back pocket of his head. He had to be stable. Stable enough to take care of his boys.

"Alright baby boy, you're going to have to work with me at least a little bit here. I know you're in pain but we have to go get Roman." Dean hummed softly to Seth. His words weren't acknowledged. Dean was positive Seth was holding up maybe thirty pounds of his own weight, the other one hundred eighty-seven was resting on Dean. He had managed to move his own arm across his ribs, but that's it. His head was practically weightless at it just kind of lulled this way and that and his eyelids were now only half open compared to his once wide open ones.

Dean managed to practically carry Seth over to the cell door where Roman was limping out himself, also holding his ribs and hissing in pain. Despite all of this, however, Roman came over and tried to take Seth for himself.

"Don't even try it Roman." Dean sent out a warning look Roman's way. He never thought about himself first. Roman was always Roman's last thought. Dean wasn't going to let that slide tonight. Not after all the shit they just went through.

"I can carry him-" Roman started, but shut his trap in surprise when Dean growled and gave him a pointed look.

"I said no and that's final Roman. All I need you to do right now is walk, and you seem perfectly capable of doing that. I've got Seth." Dean sighed in both relief and appreciation when Roman nodded and started limping forward again. Dean followed behind Roman up with ramp, basically carrying Seth along with him despite Seth being on his own two feet. Seth wasn't helping much, and though it wasn't easy, Dean wasn't mad at him. Seth was hurt and he knew that.

They made it backstage and following Roman's lead the three made it to the locker room. "Sit down." Dean said to Roman, motioning towards the couch in the room. Roman nodded reluctantly and sat down, which honestly felt really good.

"I'm going to lay Seth with you and start packing up all our shit so we can get out of here. Try to not move him much. He is out of it." Dean warned, carefully laying Seth next to Roman so that he was leaning against the larger Samoan. He was a bit frantic, really wanting to get his boys out of the building. He knew Seth's head was bugging him. Based on simply his posture and looking into his glazed over eyes. He also knew both boys were more tired than ever after the night's events.

Roman chuckled. "Yes Sir Doctor Ambrose." he held back other comments, opting for the simple poke at Dean's concerned attitude and actions. Roman found it extremely amusing when Dean got worried about them, as they all knew Dean didn't understand really how to be worried. Roman was especially excited to see how he was as caretaker. That's a role Dean has never actually tried to or had to take on before. It was bound to be an entertaining night.

Dean shot him another pointed look to which Roman returned with a cheeky smile. "Clearly you aren't going to be the focus tonight, big dog." Dean mumbled before he began practically running around the room to pack not only his luggage but Roman and Seth's as well.

Roman just shook his head fondly. As funny as watching Dean do all this was, it also warmed his heart when Dean did this sort of thing. When he tried so hard to take care of them when that wasn't really his cup of tea. That Dean was willing to do this for them and only them made him get butterflies. But there was no denying it was still funny as all hell.

Seth groaned in his side, which caused Roman's attention to finally fall back to the Midwest native. The groan was different from the others. He sounded in so much pain. Almost like he was going to cry. Seth was now a bit more conscious, and the original shock of everything had worn off. All he felt was pain. He had curled into a small ball in Roman's side and was holding his gut with his arms. His back was absolutely killing him and he doesn't think he's ever been in this much pain. Well, minus his knee injury. That one hurt hella bad too. Make this the worst pain he's ever felt that wasn't an injury. Honestly, he's in more pain now than he was the first time he had ever jumped off a cell.

"Roman it hurts so bad..." Seth whimpered. His voice was raspy, and his chest ached horribly when he spoke. His chest felt tight. He wasn't gasping for breath by any means, but it certainly wasn't easy to breathe.

"That's it, I don't care what Dean says, I'm taking you out to the car." Roman mumbles softly. He stands from his place beside Seth on the couch and carefully stands Seth up, who coughs and whimpers in pain in the process. The moment Seth is up he falls right back down. He couldn't hold his own weight up. Standing felt like he was trying to bench a billion pounds.

Roman's eyes widen, realizing the full condition of his younger partner, and stops him from falling. He also has to stop himself from wincing. He was positive that he himself had bruised a rib, but he didn't care about that right now. He had never seen Seth so weak. So willing to admit that he was hurt. So obviously in immense pain. Red flags were going up everywhere and he suddenly felt like the seriousness of this had hit him like a truck.

Seth cried out in pain as he fell into Roman, the fall causing him more pain. "Shhhhh, shhhhh, it's alright, Seth. I got you. Dean's packing all our stuff and I'm going to carry you to the car, alright?" Roman hummed, but he knew he would get no response from the Iowan. Roman scooped Seth into his arms, pain shooting up his spine and ribs from Lesnar's attack, but he fully fully ignored all of it. Seth instantaneously formed into a small ball, squeezing his eyes shut and hiding his head deep in Roman's chest, hoping and praying the pain in at least his head would alleviate a bit.

Roman couldn't limp with Seth in his arms, so he dealt with all the soreness and pain in his body as he kept telling himself to just keep moving so he could get Seth to the car. Away from all the noise, and away from all the light to hopefully help his headache. He knew Dean was going to be upset with him for this. Knew Dean didn't really want him doing more to put himself in pain, but Roman couldn't sit there and let Seth suffer knowing he could help. Knowing he could take just a little bit of that pain away. He'd take all the frustration Dean threw at him if it meant getting Seth a bit of help.

Roman made it to the car, feeling a lot heavier himself than he had five minutes beforehand, but that didn't matter. He managed to get a good grip under Seth with his left arm, reaching out with the opposite to open the car door. He leaned his head down towards where he assumed Seth's ear was. "We're at the car babe, I'm going to let you lay in the back where it's dark and quiet." He didn't bother adding a questioning okay or alright at the end, as he knew Seth was too weak to actually respond to him, or really to protest against it, so he carefully set down Seth's limp and broken form into the back seat. "I'm closing the door so you can relax, but I'm not leaving the car. We're going to have to wait for Dean here." He explained, and once he was sure Seth wasn't responding, he closed the door as quietly as possible. He then leaned his full body weight against the side of the car, letting out a heavy and pained sigh. He could not wait to get to the hotel. Seth needed to lay down and rest and get bandaged and iced up. He needed to get away from all this commotion, and as bad as he wanted to just go drag Dean's ass out here and drive them all there, he resisted against the urge. He tried to relax and not overwork himself more than he already had. Not for his own sake, but for Dean's.

Dean had managed to run around the locker room and get all three of the group's cases packed and ready to go. Anyone who watched the scene might have thought he could teleport with how fast and sporadic he had been moving around. Or maybe they just realized he was more insane than they originally thought. One of the above. He had his and Seth's suitcases in his left hand, holding both the handles and carrying them, while he wheeled Roman's behind him.

That's when he realized Roman and Seth were both gone, and let's just say it didn't take a college degree to figure out what had happened. Dean threw his head back and groaned in frustration. "Romaaaaaaaannn." A bit upset with his Samoan mate, he quickly made his way down to the parking garage and over to their car where he saw Roman leaning against it with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Rolling his eyes, he opened the trunk and put their suitcases inside.

"You didn't murder Rollins, did you?" Dean asked, cracking the smallest of smiles in an attempt to lighten the mood. Though he really wanted to jump on Roman's throat about more than likely carrying Seth out here when he was as hurt as he was himself, he stopped himself. The last thing they needed at the moment was for a fight to break out.

Roman spared him a side glance, before closing his eyes again and chuckling with another found shake of his head. "No. No, I didn't kill Seth. Figured he'd rather be in the car where it's darker and quieter. It'll help his head. I know you don't want me doing stuff but I couldn't resist with how hurt and broken he sounded. He's more conscious now, and the shock has worn off. He's really feeling it all now and it isn't good. Not in the slightest."

Dean again had to take a calming breath and almost smack his own head to try and get rid of all the terrible thoughts running through it. Pocket the urge to shove an entire broomstick so far up Dolph's ass it came out his mouth. Pocket the urge to rip out Drew's hair and shove it in his mouth and then sew said mouth together. Pocket the urge to quite literally plant both Braun and Brock's skulls into cold hard cement so hard it shattered both of their useless thick skulls. He forcefully rid himself of those urges. Put them with the other bad thoughts into the back pocket of his mind. He. Had. To. Stay. Grounded. He couldn't be the revenge guy tonight. Not yet, at least. His priorities were his boyfriends. Specifically, Seth, as it seemed he could trust Roman to be alright without attention longer than he could Seth at the given moment.

"Okay. Alright. Get in the car, I'm driving. No radio. It'll bug Seth's head more than the car engine itself is already going to." Dean said, his voice leaving absolutely no room for argument to be had. As much as he wanted to sit in the back with Seth to make sure he was okay, Roman felt it wasn't going to be a night to argue with Dean over something stupid. Just not tonight. Plus, he knew Seth needed silence at the moment, and Roman back there moving and talking to him wasn't silence. So, Roman got in the front seat, no more questions asked.

Dean hopped in the driver's side, but he hated it. Hated that their entire normal system was out of whack. Dean was supposed to be shotgun. Seth was supposed to be driving. Roman was supposed to be in the back. None of those were happening, and it made Dean want to scream. It wasn't that he really cared if they switched positions, that didn't bug him, it was the fact this wasn't a choice they made. The reason they had to do this is what was bugging him. He felt those sadistic thoughts creeping back to the front of his brain but he forced them back once more. Come on, Dean. Stay calm for one night. Even just for another hour or so. They don't need revenge right now. They need you right now. 

And with those thoughts being repeated over and over in his head, Dean relaxed a little. He could do this. He turned back to Seth, oh, poor Seth. He was lying flat on his stomach, face straight down on the seat, not even resting on a side. His arms were over his head, trying to block out the world around him. He practically looked dead. Dean just wanted to hold that boy forever. To just protect him from the world. "Seth? Baby? I'm going to start the car and drive us to the hotel. I know it's going to be loud and probably hurt your head and I'm so sorry about that, but I can't help that, we have to get there at some point." Dean explained. Seth just gave a pained noise in acknowledgment and it absolutely shattered Dean's heart. Seth was always their anchor and he was just, not present. Damn, would Dean give anything for one of Seth's sarcastic quips at that exact moment and time.

The drive to the hotel was purposely as dead silent as it could be. Roman was actually relaxing, which Dean was extremely grateful for, and the only real noise you heard was pained noises from Seth whenever he so much as lifted a finger.

Dean at one point almost started speeding to try and get to the hotel, but again held back the urge. They didn't need that shit tonight. Once they finally did get to the hotel, Dean hopped out and went to the other side of the car. "Just sit there until I figure out what we're doing." Dean hummed to Roman, who had opened his car door and was beginning to get out. He halted at Dean's words, deciding to be nice and listen to him.

Dean then opened Seth's car door. "Sethie? We're at the hotel. Do you think you have enough strength to hold onto my back so Rome only has to take one suitcase?" Dean asked, very gently petting Seth's hair down.

Seth just groaned in response. "Dunno." He said simply, his voice sounded even more wrecked then it had before. It did sound like it hurt less, however.

Dean held back a groan of frustration. He hated having to do this kind of stuff. He was not good at it. "What kind of dunno, honey? Dunno as in I'll try or dunno as in you know you're too weak?" Dean clarified.

"Can't." Seth said simply, and it broke Roman and Dean's hearts for about the billionth time that night. Seth doesn't not try. Doesn't openly admit when he can't do something. He was their stubborn little boy. The only stubborn thing he had done that night was the thing that was causing him the pain he's in, and that wasn't exactly the stubborn part of Seth they wanted at that moment.

Dean looked at Roman, and Roman matched the distraught look on Dean's face with his own. Dean looked back to Seth. Poor poor little Seth. He didn't want Roman to really have to carry anything, but Dean knew he couldn't carry both the suitcases and Seth on his own. He sighed, making up his mind, and looking to Roman. "Stay. Put. And watch him. I'm taking the suitcases to our room and then I'll come back for him." He said in what he hoped was a stern tone, before turning and grabbing the three suitcases from the trunk. He was pleased to see that Roman hadn't moved, and he felt the edges of his lips twitch into a very small smile.

It didn't take long for Dean to return to the car, and you wouldn't believe the relief he felt when he realized that Roman hadn't tried anything. In fact, he was so happy and relieved that he actually went over and kissed the Florida native on the head, gently cupping his face. "Thank you." He hummed appreciatively.

Dean then finally walked over to the back and carefully lifted up Seth into his arms. Seth instantaneously curled himself into a ball in Dean's arms, and Dean had never been more thankful for his extra muscle then right then. He stood up and Roman closed both car doors, which Dean appreciated, and the three then walked up to their room.

When they got there Roman had to unlock the door as Dean didn't exactly have the ability to do that given the situation. Dean had left the bathroom light on but hadn't turned any of the others on in the room for Seth's sake. Dean once more turned to Roman. "Are you going to be alright for a bit while I tend to Seth?" He asked quietly as Roman closed the door, finally encasing them in the comforting environment they needed.

Roman gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Take care of him." He mumbled simply, walking over and basically flopping face first on the bed further from the door. Dean couldn't help but chuckle at this. At least Roman was feeling better. Without another word, Dean carried Seth over to the bathroom, where Seth's grip immediately tightened on Dean's under armor sleeveless.

"'S to bright..." He mumbled into his shirt.

Dean just kissed his head. "I know, babe, I know, I'm sorry. It's on the lowest setting it can be." He apologized. He moved to set Seth down on the toilet set, where thankfully Seth was able to keep himself upright. He then walked over and began running a warm bath. As he was waiting for the water to warm up he wandered back over to Seth. "I'm running a warm bath for you to help with your backache okay? I need you to strip for me while I get it ready." He explained. It pained Dean with how quick Seth was willing to comply. The silence afterward with no teasing remark. It hurt. Hurt a lot.

Dean went back over to check on the water, deeming it warm enough as he put the plug into the drain to allow the tub to fill. When he turned around he saw that Seth's vest and shirt were on the ground, but his lower half wasn't uncovered yet. That's when it hit Dean that he probably couldn't bend down to take care of his shoes. He walked over wordlessly and untied the boots for Seth, and actually ended up taking his pants and boxers off too.

Dean then walked over to turn the water off, before walking back over to Seth, scooping him up, and carefully laying him into the warm tub. Dean smiled brightly at the content face Seth made once he made contact with the water, watching as he sank further into the water so that it nearly covered all of his body. Dean could tell he made the right move by deciding to do this, and he felt a surge of pride run through him due to the correct decision.

"Just relax and let the water ease your muscles, ninja. I'll be right back." He explained in a soft tone. Seth just hummed in response.

With someone for sure taking care of Seth, Roman was able to start caring about himself. That's one thing that Roman was good at. He was able to put everyone above himself, all of their health and safety above his own, but at the end of the day still be able to care for his own well-being in a non-selfish way.

Roman had managed to undress and throw on a random pair of sweatpants before he began checking himself out. He determined that he wasn't wrong before, he definitely bruised a rib, but it wasn't that severe. Not something that would require any sort of taping up or anything like that. He did, however, determine that his right shoulder was going to need taping. It was pretty bruised and was even beginning to swell itself.

Roman walked over to his own suitcase and opened the front pocket, pulling out the medical kit that he brought with him because he also brought Dean I don't give a fuck Ambrose with him. Cause and effect scenario. It was such a weird very role reversed night. Usually Roman was in Dean's position, Dean was usually in Seth's position, and Seth was usually in Roman's position. The three had basically done a full one-eighty when it came to their relationship tonight, and as funny as Roman found it, it was also frustrating as hell.

Roman walked back over and sat on his bed after getting the medical tape out from the kit. He pulled on the end of the tape to get it started and began wrapping it around his upper torso and injured shoulder. Honestly, Roman hadn't felt any pain in his shoulder until he actually saw it, and somehow it still didn't even hurt as bad as his ribs did, despite his shoulder being in worse condition. He was just thankful those were the only injuries he had.

Dean entered the room as Roman was taping himself up. "Um, I have Seth in the tub but I have no clue how to deal with him from there..." he claimed sheepishly. It was the first time that night Dean had sunk back into his normal personality, where he wasn't trying to put that at bay.

Roman chuckled at him, glancing at him slightly before returning his attention back to his wrap. "I don't care what they look like, wrap his ribs and lower back. Check his shoulders and see if they need to be wrapped, and definitely do a concussion check. Based on how he was reacting to noise and light I'd say a concussion is highly likely. Give him some painkillers and some nightquil to help him sleep. If he's still coughing give him Tylenol if not Ibuprofen. If he's still having the tight chest difficulty breathing issues there is an emergency inhaler as well in the medical kit. Also, don't tie his hair back tonight. Unnecessary stress in his scalp."

One look at Dean told Roman that little to none of that actually made remote sense to him, causing him to sigh. "Use this medical tape for his ribs. If his shoulders have any sign of swelling or bruising below the skin tape them as well. If he gets dizzy standing up and his eyes are dilated and cloudy then he definitely has a concussion. All the pills are labeled and in the front pouch of my suitcase, and extra tape and the inhaler are both in the med kit." He explained, more thoroughly this time.

Dean seemed to take a moment to digest the information but nodded after a moment of silence between the two. He walked to Roman's suitcase and pulled out the three assortments of pills Roman had described to him, then he turned to the medkit and grabbed the inhaler as well as the extra medical tape. 

As he was doing this, he spoke to Roman. "What's the scoop on you?" He asked, somewhat offhandedly. Just because he was less worried about Roman didn't mean he wasn't worried about Roman.

Roman chuckled. "I'm fine Dean. Nothing I'm not used to. Slightly bruised rib and more than slightly bruised shoulder. Brock really isn't that tough. Plus there is a reason I never stopped wearing the swat gear. Extra padding comes in handy." He explained, giving the back of Dean's head an amused look. A caring Dean was very very adorable in the eyes of Roman. Not something he could get used to, however. It'd just be too weird. He liked Dean just the way he was. But he could get used to this every now and again, that was for damn sure.

Although they were all in pain and Seth was lowkey dead, they could all appreciate soft calm nights like these. They only really came about when the three were hurt, because let's face it; these three are not exactly known for being soft or adorable or cute or just calm in general. It just wasn't the life they lived, and if they tried they would have all gone insane in the first hour. But all three had agreed that because they had such a weird, rough, unusual relationship and lifestyle that these rare nights were a must in their relationship in order for it to stay stable.

Dean mentally relaxed at the information from Roman. Thank God he wasn't that hurt. This didn't really take Dean off edge, however. He doesn't think he's ever worried more about Seth in his entire god damn life. His stress and anxiety were at an all-time high, and he was positive they wouldn't go down until the end of the night when he was sure both boys were taken care of and content.

Dean began walking back over to the bathroom once he was positive he had all the things Roman had told him he needed, but not before turning to Roman one last time. "Thanks, babe. I'm not making you take a shower or anything because I wanna get Seth taken care of and relaxing as soon as humanly possible. There should be some dry conditioner in Seth's suitcase somewhere. He's always got back up stuff for you and I in case things happen and I'm going to take a guess that that would be something he would have for you." 

Roman grinned widely at this, knowing it was true. Seth had always been thoughtful. Always been smart, always one step ahead, but things were different now. Seth was different now. This wasn't just him being thoughtful. This was him fully caring about his two boyfriends needs if something actually were ever to go wrong. Not that he hadn't cared before. He did. It was just a different level. Back then even his care was pretty selfish. Now it was as if Seth didn't have a selfish bone in his body. 

Honestly Dean and Roman were still trying to figure out how to deal with this new version of Seth. How to figure him out. Really how to work with him, and help him. It was just so different with him now. Seth had fallen so easily back into a routine with Roman and Dean. Easily been able to fall back into old habits. Vice versa was so different. They had all changed, but Roman and Dean relatively had the same personalities. Same wants and needs. Seth didn't, and Roman and Dean were finding it a bit more challenging than expected to work with him again.

None the less, they weren't going to give up on him. He was still their responsibility, and they still loved him more than anything in the entire world. 

Once Dean actually managed to walk back into the bathroom Seth hadn't moved an inch. Most people would think nothing had changed, but Dean knew better. Dean knew Seth better. He knew Seth was even more conscious. Knew that he was starting to come back. The progress that had been made was a mystery in itself to Dean, but he knew it had at least started.

Dean sat everything on the sink and walked over to the tub, kneeling down and beginning to gently card his fingers through Seth's still mostly dry hair. He knew Seth loved when people played with his hair, almost more than Roman loved washing his hair. "Hi baby, how are you feeling?" Dean asked sweetly.

He felt Seth shrug. "Fine, all things considered." There it was. It almost made Dean smile. The walls were going up, which meant Seth was basically present again. It meant Seth was going to be okay, and as annoying as Dean usually found this he couldn't have been more happy with hearing it right then and there.

"Don't lie to me, Sethie. There is no need when I know for a fact you aren't fine and you've already admitted you aren't. Don't try to disprove anything you've said or that we've seen tonight." Dean explained, smile pretty evident in his voice no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"How's Rome?" Seth mumbled in reply, eyes still closed as he completely dodged Dean's remark.

Dean rolled his eyes fondly at his little ninja. "Ro's fine." He reassured. "Just a slightly bruised rib and a hurt shoulder that he has already taped up and taken care of." 

"Go check on him. Needs you more than I do..." Seth slurred in reply. Dean hated this part of the new Seth. That was the difference between Seth and Roman. Both were selfless, having others as the top priority on both of their lists, but unlike Seth, Roman had a number two to his list. Himself. Seth didn't have that. His list was only others. This new Seth literally didn't have a selfish bone in his body. He was too scared to appear selfish and lose Dean and Roman to even train the thought of caring about himself. That and he really wasn't left with a lot of self-worth after all the shit he went through with Triple H. That bastard still made Dean's blood boil for what he put Seth through. What he brainwashed him to think. 

"No babe, Rome already has himself taken care of and is resting. Nothing more he or I can do. Plus he is insisting I take care of you, and he's right. You need me more than he does right now. No arguing." Dean replied in a tone filled with finality.

Seth seemed to let it go, but really talking still gave him chest pain so he didn't really feel like arguing. Dean let his hand fall lower than Seth's hair, dipping it in the water to check the temperature. "Waters getting cold sweetie, let's get you out." He hummed, feeling that the water was now below lukewarm.

Usually, Seth would protest. Half the time he'd end up staying in the tub until he got tired, not caring how prunny or cold he got. Usually wouldn't notice those things. Bath time meant think time for Seth, which usually meant self-esteem lowering thoughts. Roman and Dean had picked up on that habit rather quickly and always made sure Seth was getting out of the tub when the water was no longer warm. As said before, he usually protested, but he didn't have the energy or really care to actually do it. So, when Dean got a towel for him Seth stepped out of the tub and slowly limped over and into both the towel and Dean's arms as he hugged said towel around Seth.

"I'm getting you wet." Seth commented, looking up at Dean with his wide soft brown eyes. Dean just smiled back down at him.

"'S okay. I have yet to change anyhow." Dean then left a soft reassuring peck on Seth's forehead. "Come sit on the toilet so I can check you out. And hold the towel around your waist." He offered. At Seth's small nod Dean helped him over to sit carefully on the toilet seat. He reached over and grabbed the medical tape for Seth's ribs and moved his towel down slightly so he could wrap the correct places.

"D, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Seth asked, eyeing him warily. Seth knew Dean barely knew how to take care of his own injuries, let alone someone else's.

Dean gave him one of his classic cheesy grins. "What? Just because I'm a bit off in the head doesn't mean I can't be a good boyfriend." He teased.

Seth let out a sigh. "You dodging the question does not ease my nerves." He replied softly, still not really wanting to speak all that loudly.

Dean just gave him the same look from before. "Don't worry, Roman told me what to do. You can untense now." He assured, beginning to carefully wrap up Seth's ribs. Seth himself flinched a few times, newly formed bruises big and small still tender all around his lower torso. However, he couldn't help but stare at Dean's content concentrated face. He'd never seen him this focussed on something without being frustrated and or angry about whatever it was he was focussed on. He just looked so cute. Staring at Dean's face made Seth forget about all the pain from the bruises. So much so he didn't actually realize Dean finished until he said something.

"I know I'm a snack but Doctor Ambrose is gonna have to ask you to come back to reality so he can finish his examination." Dean teased.

Seth blushed bright red, but couldn't help the small smile and even soft laugh that the teasing elicited. "You are the biggest goofball I've ever met." He grinned, standing from the toilet seat.

Dean's smile widened. He hadn't really seen Seth smile all night, let alone after he fell, and he felt another bit of pride at the fact he caused his first one. He looked over Seth's shoulders and to him, they didn't look bad enough to need attention. They didn't look quite as bad as Roman's rib and Roman hadn't taped that, so he used that as his reasoning. "How's your cough?" Dean hummed, walking over to the pills.

"Have I been coughing?" Seth asked, raising a challenging eyebrow.

Dean rolled his eyes with a wide grin. "Damn it's good to have you back." He chuckled, grabbing the Ibuprofen as well as the nightquill. "Profen for your aches and pains, nightquill to help you sleep." He said, handing Seth two of each of the pills, as well as filling up a water and handing it to him. "I'm gonna get you some clothes." 

Dean walked out and grabbed both boxers and some of his own sweats, as he knew Seth felt more included and more comfortable when he was allowed to wear his or Roman's clothes, for Seth to wear to sleep. Dean jumped at Roman's low voice, forgetting he was actually in the room. "How's Seth?" He asked, tone both tired and worried. Dean just laughed.

"Scare the shit out of me will you?" He replied in the same soft tone. "Better. He's joking around, and his shoulder looks better than your rib. He's got a lot of big and tender bruises around his waist, small ones here and there. Having him take pills right now then I'll concussion check him and ask about his chest. He isn't coughing so I don't think it will be an issue."

"You're giving him your sweats?" Roman smirked, propping himself up on one arm as his newly shiny conditioned hair hung off the side of his head.

Dean blushed at the comment and look Roman was giving him. "Shut up. You know he feels less insecure about himself when we let him wear our clothes." He explained softly.

"Sure, Dean." Roman chuckled playfully, turning back to lay on his face.

Dean rolled his eyes, this time in annoyance, blush still apparent on his face. "If it will make you feel better I'll ask if he wants to wear one of your sweatshirts but you know he gets hot as hell when he sleeps." He grumbled out, walking back into the bathroom. "Here. Put those on real quick." Dean hummed in Seth's direction as he handed him the clothes. He then walked over and picked up the inhaler from the sink.

"Your sweats?" Seth asked curiously, smiling softly at Dean.

Dean groaned. "Yes, my sweats. It's not a big deal." He brushed off, walking back to a now only half naked Seth.

Seth's eyes crinkled at the edges as he gave a soft chuckle. "Never said it was, D." He grinned, reaching up to scratch Deans head. Just as Seth liked people playing with his hair, and Roman liked people massaging conditioner into his hair, Dean liked people scratching behind his head, as proven by how quickly Dean melted into Seth's touch. Seth used this leverage to pull Dean's head ever so slightly down to meet his own, their foreheads touching. "You're worrying about me to much D. Yes, I'll admit, it hurts, but all in all I am okay. I'm fine, I can take care of myself-"

"I know you can." Dean interrupted. "The point is that you don't have to. You aren't alone anymore, Sethie. You have people who care about you. Let them." Dean could see the undeniable doubt in Seth's eyes. Seth said everything in his eyes. Roman wore his emotions on his sleeves, Dean kept his hidden in his eyes, and Seth was the perfect balance of both. Wearing enough happiness on his sleeves to fool people into ignoring the rest of the emotions in his eyes. Hell he could even fool Roman sometimes. Only sometimes. But Dean? Never. Dean could read Seth like the back of his god damn hand. Dean was a closed book that only two people held the key to unlock, Roman was an open book that didn't need unlocking, and Seth was an open book with some pages glued together that hide parts of the story.

Dean gave Seth's lips a peck, something he often did when he was being serious, reassuring or thanking one of his boyfriends. That or forehead. "I know you're doubting it, Seth. Don't forget I can read you the same as you can read me. Whatever is going on up in that messed up head of yours please just forget about it for tonight. You don't need that extra stress on you." He whispered softly, although it still had that usual Dean rasp to it.

Seth sighed, taking one of Dean's palms and resting it to the side of his own face, kissing his wrist just slightly. "It's not that easy. You of all people should know you can't just shut off thoughts of depression and anxiety. I wish it was that simple. You know me better than anyone. Even more than Roman does. You have to know what's got me bugging." Seth replied. It almost sounded like a plea. A cry for someone to understand him. To know what he was going through. And Dean knew that Seth knew if anyone was going to understand something about him, especially something like this, it would be Dean. If Dean didn't, no one would. And boy oh boy did Dean understand.

"I'd be holding you so tight right now if you weren't all banged up..." Dean trailed, looking down at Seth's beaten and bruised body before looking back up at Seth. "I know what's got you bugging. That's why I'm bugging. You and Roman? You are the only two people I can really stand in this world. The only people I can for sure say I love in this world, and to see one of you going through what I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy is killing me, Seth. I really really wish I could take it all away from you, but that's not how it works, is it?" 

Seth gave a bitter chuckle. "No. No unfortunately it's not, Dean." Seth brought the twos hands down to his side, linking their fingers. "I'm going to assume by the inhaler in your hand that my checkup with Doctor Ambrose isn't complete?" He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Dean chuckled softly under his breath at that. "Almost. How's your chest?" He asked.

"Still doesn't necessarily feel right, but it's better. Only really tight of I talk a bit loud." Seth explained in response, eyeing Dean up and down. "You're still going to make me use the inhaler, aren't you?" 

Dean nodded. "You know me so well."

"Damn straight." Seth grinned, pausing for a minute. "Or I guess more accurately not straight." He shrugged.

Dean laughed. "God you're horrible." He smiled, handing the inhaler to Seth. "I'm just making you use it to help regulate your breathing. I can tell it's not quite normal." Dean explained as Seth shook the inhaler, uncapped it and used it before handing it back to Dean, who sat it back with the other stuff he'd have to clean up tomorrow on the counter. "And finally for a concussion check."

"That's the final thing Ro told you to check for?" Seth teased, crossing his arms and looking at Dean with a dopey grin.

"No, but it's the last thing we're doing." Dean returned. He opened Seth's eyes and checked for dilation or cloudiness, and thank god he found neither of the above. And he knew Seth was fine walking because he got out of the tub without problems. "You're concussion free." Dean grinned, causing Seth to smile. Finally something went right.

The two walked into the main room, Seth flopping on the bed right outside of the bathroom. You could hear him groan from pain but it fully seemed as though he could care less. Dean changed into boxers, and while doing so asked Seth "Do you want to wear one of Ro's sweatshirts?"

Seth nodded, even thought Dean couldn't see. "Yes, please." He said softly.

"Sure? You usually become a sweaty mess when you wear layers to sleep."

Seth just nodded. "Ro has comfy clothing." Seth loved when he got to wear Dean's sweats and Roman's sweatshirts. Although usually he just stole them, he loved even more when the two asked him if he wanted to or just gave them to him. They made him feel like he belonged. Like they really did want him around again. Like he was claimed. He just loved being surrounded by them.

Dean gave him the sweatshirt before standing up to think. They couldn't sleep all together tonight, even though that's what they needed on a night like tonight, it would be too painful. He couldn't sleep with just Roman, Seth's thoughts would keep him up all night, but on the other hand he couldn't sleep with just Seth. Not without risking hurting him even more. Dean eventually made up his mind on what he was going to do with a sigh.

"You look adorable." Roman commented over to Seth, who blushed once more.

"Whatever." He huffed, to which Roman just giggled. Suddenly they heard loud movement as Dean was pulling the nightstand away from the two beds. 

"Uh, what cha doin' there, babe?" Roman asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at his partner, Seth looking on curiously.

"You'll see." Dean replied simply. Once the night stand was out of the way, he moved to the side of Seth's bed, pushing it right up against Roman's to where the two mattresses were almost ontop of each other. Seth yelped at the movement of the bed, which Roman laughed at. He received I nice death stare from Seth in return.

When both were together Dean moved to be in the middle where the to beds met. "This way we can still sleep next to each other but not jostle any injuries." Dean explained. He was in just his boxers, Seth clad on his boyfriends various clothing items, and Roman just sore a tank and shorts.

Seth almost protested but Dean beat him there. "No arguing." He said simply, causing Seth to close his mouth again.

"Yeah, no arguing, Seth." Roman teased playfully, eliciting a smile from Seth.

Dean gave him a look. "Don't be fucking rude." The moment he finished talking the three began laughing. Once they had calmed from there little fit Dean grabbed both of there hands, placing a kiss on both knuckles. He then looked at Seth. "No more trying to prove your loyalty and low-key kill yourself, okay? It's my job to die." 

Roman looked over Dean and nodded. "I completely agree." Then he looked down at Dean. "Though not on the you dying part."

Seth sighed. "No promises. Thank you so much for taking care of my ass." Seth then looked up to Roman. "And thank you for telling him how to take care of my ass." The group giggled again to themselves.

Roman leaned over Dean to give Seth a goodnight kiss, then did the same to Dean before laying back down. Dean leaned over and have Seth his goodnight kiss. "I love you both so god damn much." Seth said. All three were still holding hands.

Roman and Dean looked at each other before smiling. "We love you too, Ninja." They said, smiling widely and feeling content and happy. The only thing that could make this night better for the three is if they could end it holding each other close. But they could settle for this.


	2. We're Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean really needs to get caught up on all things Seth and Roman really needs to go home. And Seth's damn ribs and depression aren't helping any of them.

(We're going to pretend that HIAC was on Saturday, not Sunday. Because Les'b honest these boys deserve a day off)

Dean waited silently for Seth to fall asleep. He was just hoping that Roman was still awake when this happened. Seth's thoughts kept him up late, Dean was well aware of this fact, and he knew Seth's ribs and back were not going to be a big help in him falling asleep quicker. He just hoped that the Nightquil would kick in and do its job. He knew that Seth needed sleep. Knew he had been tired for the most part all day and that he was extremely exhausted from their own match, and adding in the cell catastrophe made it worse than it already had been.

It shocked Dean how quickly he felt Seth's hand go limp in his own. Obviously, he was happy that Seth had fallen asleep, but this quick? Almost scared him. Scratch that, did scare him.

"What's wrong now?" Roman's low voice cut through softly, causing Dean to jump a bit. Not that he thought Roman was asleep, just didn't exactly expect him to speak at that moment. His body was still face down on the bed and he overall just looked exhausted. If Dean hadn't been holding his hand he'd probably think he was still asleep.

Dean sighed. "Sorry, I'm just on edge. More so than usual. It's just... Seth's already asleep." He explained softly, not wanting to wake Seth.

Roman perked up slightly at this, giving Dean a confused glance he could barely see. "Seriously?" Roman asked, using his left arm to prop himself up.

Dean gave a nod even though Roman couldn't see it. "Either that or he's dead and I would certainly hope that's not the case." He replied with an eye roll that he also knew Roman couldn't see, but he could guess based on the time they'd known each other he knew that Dean had done it, and that's all Dean really needed.

Roman chuckled. "As cute as you are trying to take care of us, it's good to have you back. Ya know, as yourself."

Dean groaned. "Please don't bring that up. I was just doing my job. It's not that big of a deal." He complained. Dean, unfortunately, knew he wasn't going to be able to live this down. Dean then sighed, looking away. Roman saw this, barely but he did, and he knew Dean was about to get serious with him, which he did not like. He gave Dean's hand a reassuring squeeze to encourage him to talk.

"Rome..." Dean trailed after a bit of silence, staring over at Seth. "What am I supposed to do tomorrow?" he asked, and Roman didn't like that he could barely hear what he was saying. He felt a very overprotective like look crawl onto his face.

"What do you mean, Dean?" Roman asked, not knowing really what else to say to that. It was such a broad statement and could mean anything, really. He kept his composure, however, as he always did, simply rubbing his thumb over the back of Dean's hand.

Dean sighed again, eyes not leaving Seth. Normally that would warm Roman's heart, but right now it was just worrying him more than he already was. "What I mean is, Seth and I haven't been alone together since before The Shield broke up. Even when we reunited and were a team together as the two of us, you were always there." he explained.

Roman understood fully now. Tomorrow he was going home to Pensacola to stay with his ex-wife and best friend Galina and their daughter Jojo. Galina and Roman hadn't broken up on bad terms, not at all. Just decided they would be better as friends and boy were they right. They were best friends. Galina doesn't really date anyone, happy to be able to raise her and her best friend's daughter with him, and Jojo understood their relationship as well as Roman's with Seth and Dean. She loved those two, as did Galina. Roman hadn't seen the two in forever, having to stay on the road to take care of Seth because Dean wasn't around too. Now that he was, he could finally go home and see them.

"You're scared you won't know what to do if something happens?" Roman asked calmly.

"Kind of, yeah. With everything Hunter did to him, it just... I'm also afraid I'll do something I'll seriously regret. I'll annoy him, piss him off, and say stupid things then take it all back. That's just who I am, and that used to be fine, but with how he is now... I just don't think he knows that there is no one who loves him more than me, even when I act like that." Dean explained, gripping Roman's hand just that little bit tighter as he looked over Seth's frame. He looked so small, even when he wore his own correct size sweats. Dean wore a bigger size then Seth in pants, so his were a bit big on Seth. They wore the same size in sweatshirts, but even though Roman was about their same size in the chest area, his arms were bigger so he wore a size bigger than the both of them. The clothes made the normally muscular toned body of Seth just look so tiny.

Roman scoffed. "And what about me?" He asked, resisting the urge to let go of Dean's hand, sit up, and cross his arms.

This made a small smile appear on Dean's face, his eyes moving back in the direction where Roman lay, though not moving to actually see him. "You wanna fight for the title of the Loving Seth the Most World Championship?" He grinned in a half-joking half serious manner.

Roman groaned, using his unoccupied arm to pick up his own pillow and hit Dean with it before moving it back to its usual spot, Dean having a silent giggle fit at the action in the process. "First off, not having this argument at one in the morning. Second off, pretty sure that title is actually tag team championship titles and we both are the champions who are going to actually kill anyone who tries to take them." 

Dean gave a satisfied huff. "I can live with that, Reigns." He replied, but went silent after, returning to just looking at Seth.

Roman sighed, laying back down. "I can stay here tomorrow, D. All you have to do is say the words and I'll cancel my plane tickets." He said softly, returning to rubbing Dean's hand. Roman wasn't lying. He knew how Seth and Dean could get, in any sense of the word, and honestly, he himself was nervous about leaving his two boyfriends alone together tomorrow. But he also had faith in Dean, whether Dean himself did or not, that he could hold down the fort and take care of their baby. He had to trust them, they had to get back to the point where this wasn't something on their worry list.

Dean shook his head into the sheets, making Roman give an involuntary chuckle. "No, it will just be prolonging the inevitable. I so badly just want to be able to spend time with him without having to worry about making him upset or... you know..." he trailed, getting quiet once more.

That's when it hit Roman. Made him realize why Dean was really fretting. He wasn't really that concerned about making him mad. He was worried about Seth transitioning into a depression wave and not being able to help him. Or worse, being the cause of it. He was worried about having to walk on eggshells with someone he used to constantly push his buttons. Someone who he used to roughhouse with, name call with, and bullshit with. He was worried that he would accidentally slip into old Dean and Seth relationship headspace and actually upset him. He was scared that he would upset him terribly, and either not know what to do, make it worse or be pushed away.

"Babe, why didn't you just tell me that's what you were worried about?" Roman asked, giving him a sad and troubled look, though Dean couldn't see it with the way the two were facing. "Look, with Seth you have to walk on eggshells without walking on eggshells." Dean turned around and looked at him like he was crazy, causing Roman to sigh. "Be careful, but still act like you normally would. Hide that you're trying really hard. Seth doesn't like when people walk on eggshells around him. He wants people to treat him normally, even though he knows he can't exactly handle it yet. You can show that you're being careful, Seth will appreciate it, especially from you, but try not to make it extremely obvious because he won't appreciate that."

Dean sighed, this time being the one to run his thumb on Roman's hand. "But what if he does go into one of his fits, what do I do then?" He asked, and Roman hated how hopeless Dean looked, even in the darkness of the room.

"I wish I could just say you won't have to worry about it, but unfortunately life is not that easy. It's very likely he'll wake up in a depression fit. He usually does after a night like tonight, just how his mind works. He's going to try to hide that he's in one, especially knowing that he's going to be alone with you, but I guarantee that you'll know if he's in one or not. I'll tell you either way, but I'm sure you'll know." Roman answered.

"But what do I do, if it happens, Ro?" Dean emphasized, trying to get his point across to Roman without sounding too terribly desperate. Dean hated sounding the way he was. Just, hopeless. It wasn't him, he despised not knowing what to do. Despised sounding hopeless, but how else was he going to go through tomorrow without voicing his concerns to Roman first?

"Just..." Roman trailed, his tired cloudy mind attempting to come up with a proper response. He sighed, realizing there were going to be major roadblocks tomorrow for the two. "Use your own experience with your depression and anxiety and try to figure out his needs and wants from there. He has different fits. Both types he will tell you he needs to be alone, one of which he's telling the truth, the other he's trying not to be what he would call selfish, and he does need someone. You have to be able to tell when he's lying and when he's not." Then he looked Dean straight in where he assumed his eyes were. "You know him better than I probably ever will. If someone can help him through this, if someone can get answers out of him, it's going to be you, Dean." He said in a very firm very serious tone of voice.

"Thanks, Roman. And sorry for keeping you awake, I'm just a bit nervous. We lost him once, I don't want to lose him again." Dean explained, turning his head to look back at Seth once again.

Roman simply smiled an all-knowing smile. "Dean Ambrose doesn't get nervous." He said, joking but also trying to give a subtle boost of confidence. Then, he laid his head back down and finally went to sleep for the night.

~

The next morning Dean woke up to the noise of the shower in their hotel room, and nobody on either side of him. He blinked his eyes open, rolling onto his back to rub at them. "Morning." He heard the nasally voice of Seth ring out through the relatively quiet room, minus the shower.

Seth was stood in front of the mirror that was on Roman's side of the two merged beds. He was wearing a pair of his own dark grey skinny jeans and a pair of black combat boots, with nothing currently covering his torso. The old bandage Dean had put on him the night before was a stringy mess splayed across Roman's bed, and Seth was currently re-taping his midsection. Although this seemed to be a bit more of a challenge than Seth originally had planned, as pretty much every advancement in his wrapping lead to a mild to violent flinch from him due to pressing on various bruises.

Dean sighed sadly. He hated watching Seth suffer like this. He swung his legs over the edge of the two beds, rubbing at his tired still somewhat sleepy eyes, and then stood up and walked over to Seth. He stands right behind him and moves his hands around him, not touching him, and gently removes the wrapping from Seth's hands before quickly and carefully finishing up the wrapping job.

"Didn't have to do that..." Seth mumbles, somewhat averting his eyes. "I was fine." 

Dean simply chuckles at this. "I had it, says the guy who was flinching with every move he made when he supposedly had it." He mocks, smirking a bit at Seth as they lock eyes in the mirror.

Seth can't help but smile softly, despite his annoyance towards the dirty blonde man behind him. "I see at some point last night Doctor Ambrose left and good ol' Deano returned, huh?" Seth loved coming up with different names for the different sides of Dean. Doctor Ambrose was the newest addition to these named personalities. Deano, or D, was the quote boyfriend side of Dean, aka the normal Dean. The Lunatic, well, that one speaks for itself. Lunatic was a side that came out in two separate ways. Just in general when they had a match, Dean was The Lunatic, or when he was getting protective over Seth and sometimes Roman. Unstable Ambrose was a side Seth hadn't seen in a while. That was the side Dean showed when he was opening himself up to someone and being completely vulnerable. Seth and Roman learned quickly how unstable he was when he did that. He also let out Unstable Ambrose when he was extremely frustrated. Seth's list could go on and on, but those were the most common prominent ones he's come up with.

Of course Dean knew of these names and thought they were very very Seth, which is why he adored them so much. Just because he adored Seth so much. "Yeah guess he decided he wasn't needed anymore and fled." Dean grinned, playing along as he wrapped his arms around Seth's lower hips so that he didn't wrap around any bruises.

Seth's smile widened. "Well that wasn't very nice of him, now was it? How are Ro and I supposed to handle our injuries without him?" He teased.

"Hey, good ol' Deano over here is just as capable as Doctor Ambrose is." Dean chuckled, planting a kiss in Seth's hair, which he only now realized was in a bun. "Did Ro tell you you could put your hair in a bun?"

"No...? Why would I need permission?" Seth asked, raising a confused eyebrow at the reflection of Dean in the mirror.

Dean shrugged. "He said last night to not tie up your hair because it would put unnecessary stress on your head." 

Seth scoffed. "I'll be fine. I don't have a concussion, you said yourself, and reaching up to brush my hair hurt my ribs so I just tried it back. Easier and less painful."

Dean just simply laughed at Seth's childish mood. He always seemed a bit more childish than usual when he was injured. "If Ro still doesn't want it tied back I can brush it for you, Sethie."

Seth once more couldn't help the soft smile that itched on his face as he leaned back into Dean, very carefully, successfully doing so with only one flinch. "Thanks, D."

Dean nodded but frowned as he realized that Seth was clearly having very small mood swings. He didn't know how Seth's mind or body handled fits of depression, he had never had to deal with it before, only Ro had, but he did know that he himself always had pretty bad mood swings when he was having a fit. He took this as a small hint that Ro had been right when they were talking mere hours before. Seth probably woke up in a fit or was at least probably moving into one. He guessed, at least. Dean honestly wasn't sure. Roman seemed to not realize that people dealt with this type of thing in different ways. Or at least, that's what Dean chalked it up to.

"Jesus Christ. We leave in five minutes you two, which means you best be getting a shirt on and that you best be getting everything on." Both jumped at hearing Roman's voice as he came out of the shower, fully clothed and looking ready to go already.

"Thanks for ruining the moment, big dog." Dean rolled his eyes, stepping away from Seth to start actually clothing himself. What he missed, however, was the extremely quiet sad noise Seth made upon being left alone.

~

Dean and Seth had just said there goodbyes to Roman at the airport and were now on their way home. A secret text conversation between Dean and Roman on the way there had confirmed Dean's original thoughts. Seth had woken up in a depression fit.

D: Noticed Seth's subtle mood swings this morning.

R: Told you you'd know if he was in one.

D: It was a guess, more or less, you just confirmed it. My only reasoning to guess was because I get bad mood swings when I'm in a fit.

R: Either way you had an idea of it. His mood swings range when he's in a fit. Either they are subtle, or he has strong swings of just bad emotions. Bad emotion swings or panic attack ridden fits are generally when he needs people. If he's bugging and telling you to leave, don't leave. If he's calm and leaves himself or tells you to leave, that's when you leave.

D: Thanks, Ro.

Dean was now driving as opposed to Seth, despite that being how they usually rolled. Dean had insisted and Seth had given up rather quickly. Driving required lifting his arms, which unfortunately required stretching his torso, which meant pain due to his beaten and bruised midsection.

Most of the ride was relatively silent, the only real noise being when Seth would reach out and change the radio station. Dean was getting antsy. Seth usually never shut up, one of his many gifts, but he was being very silent right now, and Dean didn't like how their time together was starting.

"How's your torso?" Dean asked, finally getting too antsy in the silence of the car.

Seth shrugged from the passenger seat. "Okay, I guess..." he mumbled.

"Seth," Dean replied in a warning tone. "Don't lie." Dean always knew when Seth was telling him the truth, which Seth knew that, so why Seth still chose to lie to him was beyond him.

"If you know I'm lying to you then why are you asking me?" Seth replied, rolling his eyes in clear annoyance.

"So I can get an actual answer out of you as to how you're feeling. If you know that I know you're lying to me then why are you lying to me?" Dean rebutted, not looking at Seth in favor of not crashing their car. They were hurt enough as is, didn't need concussions, broken bones, and hospital bills on top of it all.

Seth stayed silent at that, and the rest of the ride was very similar to the beginning portion. Silent, however this time it was a rather tense silence. Dean managed to get them back to their hotel room without any complications, and he parked the car in the car garage across the street. "They really hurt when my torso stretches..." Seth mumbled when Dean turned the car off, looking away sheepishly. Dean looked over at him, not really expecting him to come clean, especially after the incident from earlier.

Seth took a moment to look over and meet Dean's eyes, but he pretty quickly averted his gaze again. "Don't give me that look. I'm trying to do what you want... it'll be easier that way for this entire day if we're going to be together."

Dean sighed, reaching over to take Seth's hand. "Seth, I just want you to be honest with me. I want you to tell me if you're in pain or need help, not be afraid to admit it. I don't want you to just blindly do what I want as to not tick me off. Just be honest with me and today will be fine." He reassured, rubbing his thumb across Seth's hand.

Seth chuckled, causing Dean to raise an eyebrow at him. "When did you become the calm rational one in this relationship?" he joked, looking at Dean with a challenging eyebrow.

Dean groaned. "I dunno, man, but you better be taking your role back soon cause I'm not sure how much longer I can handle this before I actually explode." He played along. The mood-swings were going to take some getting used to, but he liked that Seth could still remotely take it easy and joke around despite it all.

Seth grinned. He loved when he and Dean could screw everything around them and just let go-just be them. Just Seth and Dean. Joking around with Dean was possibly Seth's favorite thing in the world. Possibly. Only comes second to Roman and Dean himself. And maybe a couple of other things, depending on his mood...

"Excuse me, don't tell me what to do. I will take back my role when I am able to take back my role." Seth replied, taking his hand out of Dean's and crossing his arms. "I'm a little dead right now if you hadn't noticed."

Dean couldn't help but smile once more. That sounded a lot more like the old Seth. Reminding people he wasn't okay. It was a start to fixing their issues. A start to piecing Seth back together into the man he had been trying so hard to mold himself into. Dean could do this. He knew he could. No matter how much he doubted himself, he had to remember one thing. If Dean couldn't do it, that really did mean that no one could. Roman made sure to always remind Dean of that to the point Dean literally could not forget it if he tried.

Dean put his arms up in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He grinned. He and Seth just had that look for each other. The look they had could and was perceived as two things. One was just a playful look from the two joking back and forth and doing things like this, the other, and more real perception was pure and utter admiration. They just looked at each other like they were the only two things that mattered in the world, and it always just made Roman feel like the happiest man alive when the two were doing that. He loved seeing his boys so happy after everything they had been through.

Roman always knew, especially now, he couldn't be selfish when it came to those two. They knew each other first and had known each other longer as well. He had gotten time to be just with Dean after Seth's betrayal, and time to be just with Seth during the draft. Honestly he half the time forced those two together, whether that be known to them or not. It's just what Roman did. He shipped those to together even more than he shipped himself and them together. The boys made sure they teased Roman about that constantly, as well, as they had very quickly been made aware of that.

"Alright, you, let's get inside so you can take a look at my ribs because I already know you want to do that." Seth continued to grin, leaning across the dashboard and kissing Dean's nose like the absolute dork he was.

The two made it back up to there still slightly chaotic hotel room, and Dean couldn't have been happier with how compliant Seth was to allow him to unwrap, look at, and re-wrap his mid-section with little to no complaining. "They look worse than last night, but that's probably just because they had time to fully form overnight. Most of them look like basic welts but you have maybe three that are probably going to be there for a while, unfortunately." Dean explained, taping the wrap back into place around Seth's torso.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Joy. Ya know, Ro is probably going to kill us for using so much medical tape. It is his, you know." he pointed out, slowly sitting up from where he had been relatively laying flat on the bed.

Dean shrugs, moving to sit next to Seth and wrap an arm around his bare shoulders. "I'll give him money for a new wrap. I'm sure he'll get over it at some point." He grinned. Eventually, the two managed to end up laying down on the bed, arms and legs carefully wrapped around each other as to not screw too much with Seth's injuries. Dean was just holding Seth, ensuring that he knew Dean was there for him and wasn't leaving any time soon. Seth was more in his own head, trying to fight his way out of his depressive fit, working slowly but surely. Fighting off his previous cooperate jackass persona that still wandered around in his head. It may take a while but he could do it. It wasn't that he really believed in himself, at this point in his life he was way past that, but he was just a stubborn little shit who wasn't going to give up without putting up the fight of his life.

Seth sighed after a while. As curled up to Dean as he was, he was more curled into himself. "I know you know about all my mental issues, D. Or at least some of them." Seth rolls his eyes at the bewildered look on Dean's face. "I'm depressed not stupid, there's a difference jackass. Plus I've always been observant. All this shit is just making me even more observant."

"Why'd you bring it up now?" Dean asked after a beat of silence, not daring to loosen his hold on Seth. Not in a time of vulnerability like this. He knew better.

Seth looked up at Dean, just looking into his eyes a bit. He really had to think about whether, to be honest with him or not, but eventually he sighed and gave in. "Talking, keeping myself distracted, makes the thoughts slow down. Makes them less self-targeted." Seth looked up to Dean once more, just to see if this was making sense, but immediately looked away without seeing much. "In short; it helps. Rather be talking to you then listening to them yell at me. Tell me things I already know. Try to convince me of things I know aren't true. I don't want to succumb to them again. Ro worked so hard to help me, disappointing him by suffering when he leaves for one day hurts all three of us. I'd rather that not happen. I might as well try, no matter how scary opening up is." He explained further.

They sat in silence once more for nearly a minute before Dean spoke again. "Ro... he doesn't know depression like we do. Doesn't understand it like we do. What's it like for you? How does it affect you?"

Seth sighed. "It depends, as you probably know. Most people talk about voices that sound like certain people or just voices that constantly tell you you aren't worth it. My version of that would be self-doubting thoughts. They're bad especially at night, and especially after I've lost or suffered a big loss. Lots of what ifs when I'm trying and failing to sleep. I know you know how that one is. Sometimes I'll realize something that just really really upsets me which causes very bad fits..." 

"Baby... I'm so sorry you're going through this. I wish I could just fix it. Take all of it away from you..." Dean replied, stroking Seth's arm and kissing the mop of hair on his head.

"Please don't try to fix me. Please... just..." Seth trailed, trying to find the right words to explain how he was feeling whilst avoiding lying. "Understand that I just get sad sometimes. Sometimes I shut the world out, and when I feel better I let them back in. That's just how I cope. How I deal with this cooperate bastard living inside my brain."

"He's part of you permanently now, isn't he? That person you were back then?" Dean asked. Seth looked up at him, not with a smile, but a grateful look nonetheless. He was so thankful to have this time with Dean. Dean knew depression, and Dean knew Seth. He may not know how to handle someone else's depression, but that didn't matter. Not to Seth. Just understanding him and what he was going through was enough for him.

He nodded. "He's a part of my brain I like to call Cooperate. Unless I'm having a really bad fit you usually don't hear from him much. Sometimes he'll just be an ass and snark a few things at me during the day, but that's not something I mind. Despite being a reminder of the biggest mistake of my life, he is an interval part of where I am today." He explained thoroughly. Dean liked this. Liked that he could tell Seth was calming down by talking to him. Liked being able to help his younger mate in probably the simplest way there was.

"He's still you." And to that Seth gave a curt nod. Then Dean came up with one of his 'brilliant' ideas. "Not gonna lie, you were hot as hell as a villain." And despite the blush that appeared upon Seth's face, he absolutely burst out laughing which caused a giant smile to appear on Dean's face.

"God Dean, way to completely flip the mood on its ass." Seth exaggerated, pulling slightly away from Dean but not losing contact with the older man.

Dean just shrugged. "Hey, the mood was depressing as shit I wasn't going to let it stay like that for too long." He grinned, but still looked plenty serious in Seth's eyes. "On a serious level though, when did you start fighting with Cooperate? Was it when you got injured and realized Daddy and Mommy didn't care as much as they seemed to have?" Dean asked, playfully jabbing at Seth with the comment instead of saying it bitterly like he usually would have.

Seth just rolled his eyes in return. "I never really wasn't fighting with Cooperate. There was always part of me that knew what I was doing was wrong. I tried pretending like I didn't, but ultimately that didn't work. Did I like being a bad guy? Hell fucking yes it was SO much fun. Getting to be a cocky evil bastard was honestly the highlight of it. But I didn't like having to do it when you guys were the people I was hurting. You and Ro... I never stopped caring about you two. Not even a little bit. Along with the worst decision of my life, it was the hardest decision of my life. Money and fame or the two people I loved more than anything. Ultimately I made the wrong decision. It was after I stopped fighting you that I really started fighting and becoming depressed. The injury was just the final straw to it all."

"If you could would you go back to being a bad guy?" Dean questioned, a bit hesitantly.

Seth looked up at him with a dopey grin on his face, cupping Dean's face. "Not without you and Ro. But if given the choice with you two, hell yes. Being the villain is very fun, and I'd like the chance to do it again when I don't have to hate myself for it. But never again with Triple H, or anyone aligned with him or who were aligned with him." He answered. "He's a fucking bastard. More of an evil fucking asswhole than I'd ever wanna be. He's just... I don't know. Too much, I guess." Seth explained on.

"So why did you still try to fit in with them when you returned?" Dean asked curiously. Roman already knew all this stuff from being there and being with Seth when it all happened. Dean was still relatively out of the loop. He wanted to know this stuff.

Seth shrugged. "I felt obligated too. I had nowhere else to go. You hated me, Ro still wasn't my biggest fan, what was I supposed to do? It's not like I could come back and everything would magically be better. Plus, I wanted my title back. I'd never lost it, and as internally happy as I was for him to have it, it was mine. I did what I said I was going to do, and you followed that up by doing what you said you were going to do. Interesting night that was." He chuckled softly, remembering that night and the absolute rollercoaster of emotions it had been. Between the happiness, he felt when he won the belt in the most bittersweet way possible, the confidence he felt when Dean's music played, the anger and shock he felt when he lost the title, and the contentedness and joy he felt when he realized it didn't matter. Dean finally achieved his dream. Being the champ. It was a messy night.

"Heh, yeah, and Battleground was even weirder." Dean replied. And he wasn't wrong. That night was just... well, wrong in Seth's mind. Dean going over to SmackDown while he and Ro stayed on Raw... splitting them up was so wrong. Everything was just weird and off balance without Dean around. At least in Roman and Seth's minds, it was.

"That night was just heartbreaking..." Seth mumbled, curling himself into Dean.

Dean swallowed, nodding. "That it was..." he hummed, holding Seth tighter, but being careful of his ribs. "How're your injuries?"

"Better, I guess. They are still very obviously there in both looks and feel, but they can't really get much worse." Seth hummed in response.

Dean held him tighter and kissed his hair. "Thank you for not lying to me."

Seth just nodded. "Trying my best to never do that again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3...? Aka them on Raw the next night? Suggestions or ideas? I take both? Wait that didn't need a question mark haha.

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2? Maybe? This is my first time ever writing something like this especially this fluffy. Also my first time writing something this long this quick, first work on this sight, and first full fledged finished work of The Shield bois. I'd if y'all wanna part 2 lemme know.


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